Wound tight and cocky, Jimmy Starks is a smooth-talking salesman certain he's on the verge of a big break. Even when his car stalls in the middle of nowhere, a roadside soothsayer assures him a windfall is on its way. Although Jimmy… MoreWound tight and cocky, Jimmy Starks is a smooth-talking salesman certain he's on the verge of a big break. Even when his car stalls in the middle of nowhere, a roadside soothsayer assures him a windfall is on its way. Although Jimmy should be happy when his boss suddenly agrees to financially back his business venture, he starts to become paranoid instead. As his girlfriend Deirdre and his best friend/business partner Ed watch him slowly come unwound, Jimmy wonders if a past betrayal of his friend, newly paroled Vince, could be catching up to him. And, as the weather turns cold, Jimmy can't help but fear the mysterious seer's other prediction... that they'll be no tomorrow after the first snow.

"Your fate lies on whatever road you take. Even if you choose to run from it"
Guy Pearce is a very talented actor that hasn't quite achieved the… More"Your fate lies on whatever road you take. Even if you choose to run from it"
Guy Pearce is a very talented actor that hasn't quite achieved the leading man credentials he so thoroughly deserves. However, he still has a knack for choosing great roles. The real gems among his work tends to be lower budget indie fair. Some can hit the quality heights of Memento or L.A. Confidential and reach a mass audience while others become respectful career choices that tend to slip under the radar. Personally, I think Pearce's choices are always very interesting and First Snow is a prime example of his astute eye for a good role and project.
Jimmy Starks (Pearce) is a cocky salesman who's car breaks down outside a desolate New Mexico town. To pass the time he pays a visit to a roadside fortune teller (J.K. Simmons). Although skeptical, Jimmy soon realises that the psychic is no con man and he's told that his future is very bleak. In fact, he's told that his life will come to an end when the first snow arrives, leaving Jimmy to explore how his fate will be sealed.
Making his directorial debut, screenwriter Mark Fergus (Children of Men, Iron Man) sets his stall up with a metaphysical tale that wouldn't be out of place in a Twilight Zone episode. The premise is simple (but all the more effective for it) and there are elements that also bring reminders of Pearce's Leonard Shelby from Memento. With a similar claustrophobic edge, his character is holed up in his apartment - or the occasional motel room - having anxious discussions on the telephone that may or may not seal his fate. It's this psychological angle that really benefits this impressive and intriguingly abstract neo-noir.
It's very well shot and the always reliable Pearce adds another solid character to his resume. He shows great range and holds the whole film together with his ability to switch from cocksure arrogance to paranoid wreck and has you delighted when it comes to watching him squirm. Pearce's effortless range really brings his character to the fore but what also works is it's haunting atmosphere and ability to maintain it's eeriness and mystery on such a low-key scale.
It's a slow burner that explores the theoretical themes of predestination and self-determination and has you constantly wondering how events will pan out for our conscience-stricken protagonist. Unfortunately, the destination of his repentant road doesn't end as well as it should. After a such a gripping build up, the pay-off feels rushed and unsatisfactory but up until this point it's a very involving thriller.
An impressive feature debut from Mark Fergus and on this evidence it's a shame that he hasn't stepped behind the camera since. The ending may let it down but this is still a taut, psychological mystery that deserves to receive a wider audience.
Mark Walker

paul sandberg

An interesting premiss with some nice cinematography gets bogged down by suppositions and some absurd plot contrivances, making me feel uninvolved and being… MoreAn interesting premiss with some nice cinematography gets bogged down by suppositions and some absurd plot contrivances, making me feel uninvolved and being dragged along by the plot, forced to follow, but not engaged in the film, as Pierce's charactor's life spirals out of control, mainly by his own actions.
At the core I kept asking myself, if I believed I was to die come the first snow, would I spend my few precious days running around trying to figure out who and how he was going to die, so that he could prevent it? Sounds counter intuitive to me; the psychic never said he could change his fate, so why did he think that he could?
In the end, he survives all that he thought could harm him, but in doing so, put himself in the wrong place at the wrong time; whether he would have been killed anyway, somewhere else, is a matter for speculations on fate and destiny; which I surmise is what the director had in mind, but a more focussed script would have made the journey a lot more satisfying.

Curtis Lilly

Entertaining, but nothing exceptional. Love that J.K. Simmons.

Sol C

An amazing performance by Guy Pearce makes this independent psychological drama/thriller worth seeing. Pearce gives one of his best performances since Memento.… MoreAn amazing performance by Guy Pearce makes this independent psychological drama/thriller worth seeing. Pearce gives one of his best performances since Memento. He plays a salesman who is told by a psychic that something bad is gonna happen to him soon. He has to try to figure out what will happen to him and try to prevent him. J.K. Simmons of Spiderman films is also great as the psychic and Piper Perabo is also good as Pearce's girlfriend. Great screenplay. I definitely recommend this film.

danny d

this was an intense film. everytime i see piper perablo on screen i like her more, and guy pearce is going to be a great actor for a considerable period of… Morethis was an intense film. everytime i see piper perablo on screen i like her more, and guy pearce is going to be a great actor for a considerable period of time. this film was creative and different, but ultimately the story wasnt intriguing enough to make it worth while. i enjoyed it, but it was fairly bland and didnt offer much more than a little entertainment value.

Taylor Bond

A slept on flick. Guy Pearce is a beast.

William Dunmyer

[font=Arial][size=3][color=black]I would describe First Snow as an artistic guy movie. Forget the moronic 300, which was made for dumb guys. Check out First… More[font=Arial][size=3][color=black]I would describe First Snow as an artistic guy movie. Forget the moronic 300, which was made for dumb guys. Check out First Snow, which was made for smart guys.[/color][/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=3][color=black][img]http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org/tixSYS/2006/filmguide/images/filmstills/2116.jpg[/img][/color][/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=3][color=black]Guy Pearce plays an American salesman in what appears to be the Lake Tahoe area. He's a cocky, handsome bachelor with a pretty hot girlfriend and a typical guy lifestyle. His friends are other salesmen, guys without much education but who are smooth talkers. They are confident, but you can sense their desperation as they must sell to stay afloat. Like sharks, they must keep moving. They need people, in the sense that they need customers. They will survive based on their level of success with others.[/color][/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=3][color=black]When his car breaks down on a routine business trip, the salesman wanders into a trailer where a man reads fortunes: a man not so unlike himself. Game for a little entertainment, the salesman submits to a reading. Oddly, the men hold hands during it. The psychic, who isn't the slightest bit gay by the way (nor are any of the men in this film), says that hand-holding strengthens the visions. This is just one of the moments where male characters in First Snow are put into a somewhat awkward intimacy with one another. (Another such scene involves one man breaking into another's home and snooping around, including in the man's bedroom.)[/color][/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=3][color=black]During the course of the reading, the psychic suddenly is overcome with what looks like a jolt of electricity. When he recovers, he insists that the reading end and tosses the salesman out.[/color][/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=3][color=black]In subsequent days, little things the psychic said start coming true, and the salesman becomes a bit spooked. He finds the psychic again and insists on being told more about the electric jolt. The psychic eventually relents and tells him what he saw.[/color][/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=3][color=black]This unleashes a series of events that become quite fascinating. But most engrossing is watching the salesman try to keep himself together as he comes unglued. The dramatic pay-off at the end is also quite satisfying. First Snow is one of the few spooky movies that has an intelligent ending. There are also a couple of twists at the end that keep you guessing.[/color][/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=3][color=black]The title of the film comes from something the psychic tells the salesman: "You'll be safe until the first snow of the year," which is just around the corner. The dread with which the salesman awaits the onset of winter is palpable. The fact that so much drama hinges on a meteorological occurrence gives the film an earthly, physical quality that I rarely see in movies. It's the kind of thing Terrence Malick would work into a film, given his complete fascination with nature and how men are caught in it.[/color][/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=3][color=black]First Snow has a special focus on the emotional bonds bringing straight men together and sometimes driving them apart. The central drama surrounds a childhood friend of the salesman and a dark secret they share. Another straight man that looms large in the story is the salesman's best friend. The salesman's girlfriend is a character, but she's written very superficially. She barely has any lines. The film is only interested in the relationships the salesman has with other men.[/color][/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=3][color=black]First Snow is not great, but it is a quality piece of work, with originality and a compassionate heart. I recommend it, but I wouldn't call it a must-see.[/color][/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=3]Incidentally, the film was directed by Mark Fergus, who co-wrote Children of Men. He also co-wrote the comic-book movie Iron Man, which is currently filming with Robert Downey Jr. in the lead.[/size][/font]

Kyle S

A very interesting thriller with the allways great Guy Pearce, written by two of the writers of Children of Men and Iron Man, one of which directed this film.… MoreA very interesting thriller with the allways great Guy Pearce, written by two of the writers of Children of Men and Iron Man, one of which directed this film. This film really had potential, but somehow got lost along the way. There are some very suspenseful parts, but not enough to make the movie as a whole.

Edward Boxler

It's engaging enough, but it never hits any real payoff.

Bannan instant enigma- just add water

This was a movie...that you either like or don't..as with any other, however it also might appeal to those who delve a little deeper into the subject at… MoreThis was a movie...that you either like or don't..as with any other, however it also might appeal to those who delve a little deeper into the subject at hand. I almost skipped rie over this flick, but somehow I'm glad that I didn't at all.
First of all, with having a fine of William Fichnter and Guy Pearce it already caught my attention...but this is a little bit about what you might come to expect.
This is a story about Jimmy Starks, some smooth-talking saleman who is convinced he's gonna make it big soon. His car comes to stall in the middle of some little desert town, he doesn't seem all that fazed. To kill time while the local mechanic fixes the car he goes into the bar and grabs some food and a drink...the whole time trying to convince the bar-tender to buy some kind of jukebox. Losing interest in the place, he wanders a bit aways from various venders when he comes to a small trailer where a man, J.K. Simmons, has a sign stating 'fortunes told'. Jimmy, slightly interested about what would happen naturally goes in fro a reading. What happens next is something very strange after telling him that betting on the winning basketball team isn't in his favour and that he'll make it big from Dallas, Texas...the foretune teller all of a sudden has a spasm. And then sends the salesman on his way, naturally trying to figure out what it was he hands him more money...but the teller will have nothing more to say.
He finally gets home and everything seems to be going quite normal and in his favour...until some strange things occur. Coincidences, even! Finally, curious after something a little worry-some occurs he heads back and learns that the teller sees 'no more roads, no more'. Agitated to be hearing this, he presses the man to tell him when and for how long? The teller finally assures him that he won't make it till the first snow.
As he gets back home, the feeling eats at him as simultaneously those 'dead calls' from telemarketers turn out to be something a little more foreboding...and when he gets a nice little package in the mail...Jimmy slowly travels into a downward spiral.
He becomes increasingly more paranoid, separating himself from his friends, work and even his girlfriend. He's shackled wondering if his past is coming back to haunt him and for good reason too.
Then, as the weather progressively gets colder and colder Jimmy becomes more and more worried...and takes measures into his own hands to ensure the first snow won't have anything to do with 'no more roads to travel'.
For the most part, I found this movie alright...and being that I absolutely adore Guy Pearce's acting...it wasn't hard to keep watching. There was just something about this film that really caught me off guard. One of those movies that slide under the radar..and take a long time to unravel the plot at hand. Once again, subjective...but it might make you wonder yourself...not about fortune tellers or first snows...but about 'fate' and what it has to do with humanity, itself.

Walter M.

[font=Century Gothic]"First Snow" starts with fast talking salesman Jimmy Starks'(Guy Pearce) car breaking down in the middle of nowhere. With… More[font=Century Gothic]"First Snow" starts with fast talking salesman Jimmy Starks'(Guy Pearce) car breaking down in the middle of nowhere. With little else to do, he checks in with the local soothsayer(J.K. Simmons). After Jimmy returns to the city and his girlfriend Deirdre(Piper Perabo), who makes him feel 20 years younger probably due to the energetic sex, he finds that the two predictions were eerily accurate. He returns to find out what so disturbed the oracle when they first met. It seems he saw Jimmy die and that it will happen sometime around the first snow...[/font]
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[font=Century Gothic]"First Snow" begins promisingly enough but does nothing new with a plot that has been around since Ancient Greece.(While none of us can escape our fate, we can however make life interesting in the interregnum.) Basically, there is less substance(pretty much all red herrings) than the average episode of "The Twilight Zone," which it sort of resembles, especially concerning the supporting characters and a central conflict that comes out of left field. What it desperately needed was a kicker to give the movie desperately needed irony. It is a shame because the movie wastes some nice photography and a good cast notably J.K. Simmons who perfectly conveys the pain of how his character has been cursed, not blessed. [/font]

FanGirl Browncoat

A nice indie movie. It's scary but not in a horror film way, in more subtle way.